Mike,

Simple transistor throttles  and power supplies like the ones discribed in the Kalmbach book "Practical Electronic Projects for Model Railroaders" by Peter Thorne would work fine and will give good control with todays modern low current motors.

If you have access to a good library of model mags, you can do a search of the magazine index on Kalmbach's web site and find dozens more circuits that have published over the years.

Sheldon

Mike,

I doubt there is much difference between the two packs, and yes the tech4 280 is the newer, the other is from about 10 years ago. The only other economical option might be to build your own if you are electrcally inclined.

A simple power supply and two simple transistor throttles for each zone could be built for the same or less than the dual packs, especially if you shop around and buy all the parts bulk at the same time.

That would also allow you to design more space saving control panels, and/or make one of the throttles a tethered hand held for switching in that zone.

Sheldon

Still and planning to remain DC. I don't care for sound in smaller scales and am building a large HO layout that will stage about 35 trains and operate 8-10 trains at once. Some will operate in a semi-automatic mode using computerized block control.

The computerized block control will allow colision free operation for display or walk around operation for "operating sessions", or both can be combined to suit the number of operators available.

Sheldon

Ernie,

As Gene said, this was recently a hot topic, just before the new format. Based on a number of things going on in the industry, there is no sign that DCC will "take over" any time soon.

If we could get the real numbers, I would bet DCC only accounts for 1/3 to 1/2 of all the sales of new locos. Atlas, Proto2000, BLI/PCM, Intermountain, Athearn and others are showing no signs of changing their current policy of making both DC and DCC. And Bachmann has taken the route of inexpensive dual mode decoders that can be removed if you desire, so that would suggest thier sales and their customers are telling them that DC is still the main control system, even if DCC is a large minority.

BLI/PCM is coming out with locos with sound, but not DCC, indicating that DCC may have reached the saturation point for the time being.

Sheldon

Ken

What kind of passenger cars? How free rolling are they? How much do they weigh?

I do not have any experience with the SY, but since no one else was answering you I thought I might offer some help.

Weight will help, since I have never had this loco apart, I can't offer specifics, but weight should always be centered on the driving wheels or slightly ahead of center.

Many passenger cars have very bad rolling qualities do to pickups for lights or just plain poor design. Improving rolling qualities is often easier than improving pulling ablity.

I have done much study in this area and have nearly doubled what many of my locos will pull by changing trucks and/or wheel sets.

Two percent grades are a resonable standard for a model railroad and I would consider 6-8 passenger cars a reasonable train for that loco on that grade.

Keep in mind the the real SY mike is a fairly light loco by north american standards and would not pull a large train on a grade that steep in real life.

May I ask why you are using this loco for passenger service? Are you trying to model its use here as a tourist line loco?

Hope this helps some, feel free to ask more specific questions about improving rolling qualities if you are interested.

Sheldon

Gene mentioned the 4-8-2's being strictly passenger engines on the C&O, and that is correct. Same was true on the B&O. But on the NYC, PRR and dozen or so other roads in the east, Mountains where truely the first dual service locos and paved the way for the superpower northern concept. On NYC most of the freight trains going up the Hudson where pulled by their 4-8-2's which they caled Mohawk's.

And Bachmann has blessed us with two great Mountains and good selection of different tenders to go behind them. My Atlantic central has a large fleet of USRA heavy Mountains, some oil fired and some coal fired.

As others have said, we still need more 2-8-0's, 2-8-2's, 4-6-2's, these where the work a day locos of most railroads even to the end.

A few other ideas instead of giant wheelbase western power.

How about the DT&I super power Mikado?, these where just as powerful as the Lima Berk's.

Or any of the great Atlantics that moved name passenger trains all through the teens and twenties and then moved commuters and locals in the 30's, 40's and 50's.

Or what about a modern large boilered ten wheeler?

But we have enough Northerns and other long wheelbase, large drivered western monsters.

Sheldon

Gene & wobblin,

The part number mentioned, 89902, is the medium vanderblit and it will work fine.

Sheldon

wobblinwheel,

Yes that tender will work fine with the 2-8-0 with no wiring changes or problems.